Valve apparatus



April 22, 1930. J, Q |||GG|N$ 1,755,475

AUTOMATIC WATER HEATER CONTROL VALVE APPARATUS Filed Feb. 28, 1928 ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 22?., 193i) e sleepte ses steso,

ail-Toneel@ estelares yApplithzaten' filed, February 28 i928. Serial 1go. 257,685,

My invention relates to automatic heater control valves and the objects of myinvention are: First,k to provide a `valvfeof this class which is adapted for any use in vwhich thev passage of one fluid is 'desired to automatically'control the passage of a second fluid; second, toprovide a valveof this class whichy is especially adapted for automatic water heaters using gas fuel; third, to provide a valve of this class which .is a double valve consisting of a Water valve rand gas valve `combined in a single unit and'in Which the 'Water passing through its valve portion operates the gas valve Which permits the pas- V sage of thee'orrect amount ofV gas necessary for heating the Water to the desired temperature, thus Within limit, the temperature of the Water after leaving the automatic heater is approximately rconstant regardless of the 2g volume; fourth, to provide' a valve of this class iin,k which ai Water valve and gas valve Varemou'ntedin vthe same housing and on the same axis with a partition extending betvveen the Water valveand the gas valve and in r Whichha stem`integra-l vvith the Water valve extends through a packing gland mounted in saidpartitin for operating' said gas valve; li'ftli, t'provide a valve oit this class in which lthe lfluid in one valve portion cannot pass 3o into the other valve portion; sixth, to'pro'vide a valve othis class which' requires no Yfurther adjustment'yvhen once installed; and seventh, to provide a valve of this class which compact, 'efficient in its' action, durable,

ivhicl "is provldodvvith a minimum of moving parts and vvhichwill not readily Vdeteriorate or get out of order.

' With these and other objects in View as will*:appear'hereinaften my invention con- 40 sists vof certainnovel'features of construction, ,combination and arrangement 'of parts and portions as will be hereinafteride'scribed in detail and particularly set Vforth invr the appendedclraiins, reference being had to the accompanying dratvings and tothe characters of reference" thereon which form a part of this v vapplica-tion in which:

""F-"gure 1 is a ,longitudinall sectional view of 'valve .apparatus Vthroughv '-141 of Fig." 6o 2;F1g. 2 1s a transverse Jsectional view there# v water' valve."

of through 2 2 of Eig, l; Fig. 3 iS ,o 1`2H1S verse sectional View thereof through 25A-3 `of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is longitudinal SQQtOllol View thereot throughl-fe .of Eig. .5; 5 is a transverse sectional view thereof through 5-5 of Fig. et; and Eig. T6, is. another transverse sectional view tlleof through 4k{5f-.6 of Fig. 4.

Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts and portions throughout the several views of the drawings.

Valve housing l, Water. valve. Cap and inlet 2, Water valve plunger 3,-pacliing 'gland ,4, gas valve plunger 5, gas valve ,cap 6,'and

,. spring y7', constitute the principal parts andv portions of my automatic heater Control' valve.

V The valvehousingl l is substantially cylindrical lin 'shape and" is provided .vizith an e11- la-rged chamber portion at its lower extremities which forms the Water valve ,Chamber la. Y

A hollow boss portion lleXtends from ltheside of the'ehamber il@ forming the .Water outlet passage. Thelower extremity yot the-avatar Lvalve chamber '1i1 is .closed by water valve .cap 2.. 'Thecap 2 is provided with'a central opening "2? which serves as' the Water inlet passage. A valve plunger 3 Vfits snugly V.Within the chamber l? and is adapted to reciprocate therein. A depressed portion 1 .extends along the side Wall ofthe Achamber la and communicates with the outlet passage 1b, thus providing a lbypass around thelvalvce 3, as shown best in Figs; l and 6 ofthe dra-Wings.

chamber le?" is closed across its upper portion forming a .partition lfl which is provided with 'af smallcentral .opening therein. Water valve stem 31e-iis .centered on .thevvater valve 3 and extends upwardly through the opening `provided in the partition 19in' An internally threaded boss portion IS .concentric .Withftlie stem 3? depends from thepartiv tion ll?. packing' gland .4 llits around the stem '3? and Vis .adapted'to screw ivithin the zboss portion 1S .fiorcing the packing rtightly against the stem 3? andlpreventinganylealzage of fluid vin'toand out of thev chamber l, yet permitting kthe reciprocal movement off the A sleeve ymember a3l? :integral .withthe `Water valve 3 andin.=the.formo an chamber lg.

annular ridge concentric with the water valve stem 3a fits snugly around the outside of the boss portion le and prevents grit or the like from coming in contact with the valve stem and packing gland, thus preventing excessive wear.

The unenlarged portion of the valve l is provided with a pair of chambers lt and lg separated by a perforated partition lh. chambers lf and lg form the gas valve chamber of my automatic water heater valve apparatus. The lower chamber l is provided with an extended passage lj which forms the gas intake. An opening lk which communicates with the pilot burner of the automatic heater, not shown, is provided in the chamber to a given temperature and yet permit a wide lf. The upper gas chamber lg is provided with a passage ln1 extending therefrom which forms the gas outlet passage. An opening ln similar to the opening lk is provided in the sage lb, the gas inlet passage lj, and the gas outlet passage lm terminate in the same plane v thus facilitatinginstallation and manufacture. This is accomplished by making the passages integral with the housing l and conducting the passages lj and lm downwardly along the sides thereof until reaching the plane of the water outlet passage l". The passages then extend outwardly and are provided with suitable coupling means. l

A gas valve plunger is adapted to rest upon the perforated partition lh, said gas valve plunger is provided with a central stem 5 which extends downwardly, and engages the upper portion of the stem 3a of the water valve 3, as shown best in Figs. l and 4 of the drawings. The upper portion of the stem 5a extends into a centered socket 6a provided in the cap member 6. A spring 7 extends between the gas valve cap 6 and the upper surface of the gas valve plunger 5. Said spring tends to hold the gas valve plunger tight against theperforated partition lh. The under surface of the gas valve plunger 5 is provided with suitable soft material 5b to form an efiicient seal against the passage of gas when the valve is closed.

The operation of my automatic heater valve is as follows:

The passage lb is connected by suitable pipes to the cold water intake of the automatic heater; the water inlet 2a is connected to the source of water supply; the gas inlet lj is connected to the source of gas supply; and the gas outlet lmis'connected to the gas burner of the automatic heater. and portions are not claimed as a part of my ir'ivention and hence are not shown. When a l The Said opening is manually closed with a plug. Should it be desired to use the The connecting partsfaucet which is in connection with the hot water heater is turned on, the pressure in the passage lb is reduced thus permitting the pressure from the source of water supply to lift the water valve. The movement of the water valve 3 causes the gas valve plunger 5 to open and permit the flow of gasl therethrough. If a faucet connected through the heater with the outlet passage lb is opened full force, the water valve rises to its full height and vpermits a maximum flow of gas: conversely, when only a small amount of water is passing through the passage l", the water valve plunger 3 is only slightly open and only a small amount of gas is allowed to pass. Thus, it is possible to Yheat the water fluctuation in the amount of water heated for any given time. c

It will be noted that although my device is described as an automatic control valve for automatic heaters, it is obvious that my valve can be used wherever it is desired to regulate the flow of one fluid relative to another.

It is obvious from the construction as illustrated in the drawings and described in the Vforegoing specifica-tion that there is provided an automatic heater control valve as aimed at and set forth in the objects of the invention and though I have shown and described a particular construction, combination and arrangement of parts and portions -I do not wish to be limited to this particular construction,

combination and arrangement of parts and portions but desire toinclude in the scope of my invention the construction, combination and arrangement substantially as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is z l. In a valve apparatus of the class described, a housing, a pair of superposed chainbers formed therein and separated by a single integral partition, a fluid valve plunger mounted in the one of said chambers, a gas valve plunger mounted in the other of said chambers, and a separable stem extending between saidfluid valve plunger and said gas valve plunger for operating said gas valve plunger'simultaneously with'said fluid valve plunger.

2. In. a valve apparatus of the class dcscribed, Va valve chamber provided with a depression in the side wall thereof, inlet and outlet passages communicating with said chamber and depression, a valve plunger slidably mounted in said chamber, a second valve chamber mounted in superposed relation to said first mentioned chamber, a valve plunger mounted in said second chamber, a stem for each of said plungers with their inner ends in loose abutment 4simultaneously operating said first and second mentioned valve plungers.

3. In` a valve apparatus of the class de-` scribed, a valve chamber, inlet and outlet passages communicating therewith, a valve plunger mounted therein, a bypass around said valve plunger connecting said outlet and said inlet, a second valve chamber mounted in superposed relation to said first mentioned chamber, a valve plunger mounted in said second chamber, a stem for each vof said plungers with their inner ends in loose abutment simultaneously operating said first and second mentioned valve plungers.

4. In a valve of the class described, a valve chamber, inlet and outlet passages communieating with said chamber, a valve plunger slidably mounted in said chamber, a second valve member, superposed on and integral with' said first chamber, a perforated partition dividing said second valve chamber, a valve plunger mounted in said second valve chamber adapted to seat on said partition, inlet and outlet passages intersecting said second valve chamber on opposite sides of said partition, means connecting said second mentioned valve plunger with said first mentioned valve plunger for simultaneously operating said valve plungers.

5. In a valve of the class described, a valve chamber, inlet and outlet passages communieating therewith, a valve plunger mounted therein, a bypass around said valve plunger connecting said outlet and said inlet, a second valve chamber, superposed on and integral with said first chamber, a perforated partition dividing said second valve chamber, a valve plunger mounted in said valve chamber adapted to seat on said partition, inlet and outlet passages intersecting said second valve chamber on opposite sides of said partition, means connecting said second mentioned valve plunger with said first mentioned valve plunger for simultaneously operating said valve plungers. l

6. In a valve of the class described, a single housing, a pair of superposed chambers therein, a. single partition separating said chambers, a stem extending through said partition and slidable relative thereto, a single packing gland in said housing forming a fluid tight joint between said stem and said partition, a valve plunger mounted in the one of said chambers and secured to said stem, .a second valveplunger mounted in the other of said valve chambers engageable with said stern. v

7. In a valve of the class described, a single housing, a pair of superposed chambers there- V in, a single partition separating said chambers, a stem extending through said partitionA` and slidable relative theretoha single packing gland lin said housing forming a fluid tight joint between said stem and said partition, a

upon said partition and engageable with said stem.

8. In a valve of the class described, a single housing, a pair of superposed chambers therein, a single partition separating said chainbers, a stem extending through said partition and slidable relative thereto, a packing gland in said housing forming a fluid tight joint between said stem and said partition, a valve plunger mounted in the one of said chambers and secured to said stem, a perforated partition provided in the other of said chambers, a valve plunger adapted to seat upon said diaphragm and engageable with-said stem, inlet and outlet passages communicating with said first mentioned chamber, a bypass extending around said first mentioned valve plunger and connecting said inlet and outlet passages.

A 9. In a valve of the class described, a single housing, a pair of superposed chambers therein, a single partition separating said chambers, a stem extending through said partition and slidable relative thereto, a packing gland in said housing forming a fluid tight joint between said stem and said partition, a valve plunger mounted in the one of saidchambers and secured to said stem, a perforated partition provided in the other of said chambers, a valve plunger adapted to seat upon said partition and engageable with said stem, inlet and outlet passages communicating with said first mentioned chamber, a bypass eX- tending around said first mentioned valve plunger and connecting said inlet and outlet passages, other inlet and outlet passages intersecting said second mentioned chamber on either side of said partition.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at San Diego, California, this 16th day of February, 1928.

JOHN C. HIGGINS.

valve plunger mounted in the one of said y chambers and secured to said stem, a perforated partition provided in the other of said chambers, a valve plunger adapted to seat 

